CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – The global mining industry is enduring a period of great uncertainty. In the face of extreme market volatility, stagnant commodity prices, weak demand and suppressed levels of economic growth in established markets, many mining companies are striving to remain buoyant, says temporary power solutions provider Altaaqa Global chief commercial officer Majid Zahid.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2017 Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, he noted that in miners’ quest to emerge victorious from the recession, many of them had implemented cost-cutting initiatives aimed at ensuring maximum customer value with fewer resources.

“Others have chosen to be cautiously proactive and embarked on exploration programmes in a bid to boost long-term profitability. Some have turned to technology to optimise processes and facilitate existing methods,” Zahid added.

Zahid commented that “going lean” had become a significant trend in the industry, as mining companies sought to concurrently reduce workforce numbers, capital and energy intensity; exploit growth opportunities and ensure maximum value for their products and services.

He believes that power generation and supply choice is a part of mines’ operations that could significant alter the profile of their capital expenditure.

“Electricity remains the life-blood of mine sites worldwide. However, with the current economic situation, mine operators cannot afford to devote a large portion of their scarce capital to a major expenditure, like building a permanent power plant. Considering this, mine operators can instead choose to hire multimegawatt temporary power solutions,” Zahid said.

He noted that a consistent, dependable and sufficient supply of electricity was of vital importance throughout the life cycle of a mine operation. “Temporary power plants can adequately provide for the electricity needs of a mine site. They can power camp sites during prefeasibility, feasibility and exploratory stages and support the establishment of the mine operation after a successful exploration,” Zahid highlighted.

He added that temporary power plants could also provide power to a mine’s machinery and the processing plants, as well as its temperature-control equipment.

Altaaqa Global is a joint venture between mining and construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar (CAT) and industrial conglomerate Zahid Group, providing power solutions, supported by partnerships within the worldwide CAT dealer network.